


Uncertainty

by feudal



Category: Diabolik Lovers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-09 22:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1151618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feudal/pseuds/feudal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beyond Ayato's juvenile attempts to spoil Yui's cooking, Reiji also has to deal with some troubling dreams about Yui as a vampire and he wonders how their relationship will change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Uncertainty

Hers was an existence like a plume of smoke. Just when he reached out his hand and it seemed as if they would make contact, she would vanish almost as if she were never there to begin with. There was a terrible beauty to her ephemerality that was so unbearable it made his heart ache.

Just then, he felt the distinct sensation of her fangs piercing through his flesh. It was simultaneously pleasurable and painful; Reiji felt in that moment that he was understanding for the first time what it meant to be the mouse instead of the cat. Her cape swirled in the wind around her thin, white shoulders as she turned away. A few drops of his blood (but he'd taken so much of hers in the past that who really knew where she ended and he began?) dripped from her mouth to the ground, blooming into little crimson flowers of regret.

* * *

Reiji gasps as he awakens, his face pressed against the pages of a dusty tome he'd been poring over.  _When did I fall asleep...?_  He frets and frowns, hoping that he was not asleep so long in this position that his back will suffer for it. He places a bookmark into the book and as he stands up to file it back onto the shelf, a blanket falls to the ground. "This was  _her_  doing, no doubt... As usual, she is such a meddlesome person." He smiles a little, despite himself.

Yui is still human. Thus far, Reiji has felt no need to ever change that. He is not sure, exactly, what he would do if she ever desired otherwise, but because the topic has never been broached, he has seen no reason to press the issue. Their lifestyle at present is so quiet and at ease that those kind of major decisions about the future seem almost unreal. The old him would have balked at this situation, he thinks wryly. The bitterness of his past, the hardships he and Yui experienced to reach this point... They seem to have been from a completely different time.

Still, the content of his dream is troubling him. Being supernatural creatures, at times the Sakamakis' dreams seem to be a portent of things to come. A dream about vampiric Yui leaves little room for interpretation. "Hmph. Even if she  _were_  to become a vampire, how presumptuous of her to think that she would be allowed access to my noble blood... Ridiculous."

Reiji decides to put the matter aside. There is no need to pay it any more mind. "Now then, shall I see what my prey is up to...?" He smirks as he goes to find Yui.

* * *

In the kitchen, Yui is taste-testing a small pot of marinara sauce that she's let simmer. "I wonder if this will be to Reiji-san's taste..." She knows full well how picky Reiji is, especially about pasta dishes, and can't help but be embarrassed about her string of previous failures. "It's not like my food is really terrible or anything, his palate is just too refined." This is what she always tells herself as a consolation after all the times Reiji has insulted her skills. Yui frowns as she recalls his sharp rejection of the tea she brewed a few hours before.

Still, Yui is a tenacious person. Every time Reiji leaves to find something more to his taste after refusing her food, she eats her "failed" dish alone and swears that she will improve and make him admit defeat. It's not so much about her pride, bruised as it is after all of Reiji's rejections, as much as it is about her wanting to see Reiji smile more from the heart. Full expressions of emotions from him, whether positive or negative, are rare. She would like nothing more than to peel back all his layers and expose his more honest self, though Yui is not sure how long that will take.

"Hey Chichinashi, what're you doing?"

Yui is startled by Ayato's sudden appearance, but quickly regains her composure. Showing discomfort only encourages him and Reiji's brothers to bully her more and she would rather not grant him the pleasure of seeing her ill at ease. "I'm cooking something for Reiji-san. He was up pretty late this morning reading."

"Huh? Geez... Don't bother cooking something for that fussbucket. You know him. He probably won't even like it. Make me some takoyaki instead!" Ayato whines, slumping over and stretching his arms out across the counter.

_He looks pretty silly that way, flapping his arms on the countertop._  She isn't about to tell it to Ayato, but his appearance reminds her of an octopus. No matter how much he may love takoyaki, no doubt he would not appreciate being compared to one. "We don't have enough ingredients for takoyaki and I'm nearly done with the pasta, besides. Please don't make such unreasonable requests, Ayato-kun..." Yui tries to say this as gently as possible, though she knows by now that it probably won't matter.

"Even though you're just some girl with no boobs, you're being pretty cheeky." Ayato grumbles, his voice dipping down just shy of a dangerous growl.

"What does having a small chest size have to do with anything?" Yui mumbles before saying more loudly, "I can't do the impossible, you know... If we don't have any octopus, what am I supposed to make takoyaki out of?"

Ayato does not seem to have a good response to that, a fact which very obviously agitates him. "Shut up!! Don't talk back to me!"

_This pattern again..._  Yui chooses not to respond, stirring the sauce to even out the flavor a bit more.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Ayato shouts like a petulant child.

"You're the one who just told me to shut up, Ayato-kun..."

".........!!"

Really, Yui's lost count of just how many times she and Ayato have reached this kind of standstill. The boy simply does not know when to quit. She sighs lightly before giving the sauce another taste.  _Okay, I think it's about right now~!_  She fails to realize that Ayato's silence is not at all an indication of backing down. He suddenly appears behind her and starts pouring salt into the sauce.

Horrified, Yui yelps "A-Ayato-kun, stop that!!" She reaches for the salt shaker, but Ayato gleefully holds it above her head and out of reach.

"As if I'd listen to you, i~diot! This is what you get for acting all self-important even though you're just Chichinashi." Ayato laughs raucously, obviously pleased with his mischief.

"Why must you all insist on making such a racket? Stop this noise at once!" Without having to turn around, Yui knows exactly who it is in the doorway.

"Geh! Reiji..." Apparently, so does Ayato. Yui whirls around and is not surprised to see Reiji looking rather displeased.

"Ayato! I should have known that I would find you at the center of a commotion. What are you doing?" Reiji pushes up his glasses with a finger.

Before Yui can get a word in edgewise, Ayato says "Chichinashi's making you food! You should try this sauce. She's been bragging about how great it is. Won't shut up about it, even."

"Wha—! I have  _not_ —"

"Really, try it!" Ayato interrupts her, a smug smirk of self-satisfaction on his face.

Reiji's eyes narrow. "It really is rather suspicious that you are offering her food to me, Ayato. Don't tell me that you had a hand in it?"

Ayato shrugs cooly. "You know I can't cook."

In one swift motion, Reiji is in front of the stove. "Reiji-san, wait!" Paying no mind to Yui's frenzied plea, Reiji gently tugs the spoon out of her hand and scoops some of the sauce out of the pot with it. He brings the spoon to his lips and tastes it.

"Hmm... It's not bad." He decides after some contemplation. Despite herself, Yui's heart skips a beat.

Flustered by the failure of his sabotage to fluster his older brother, Ayato blurts out "That's impossible!! I poured tons of salt into it—ah." He freezes mid-sentence, realizing his mistake just moments too late.

Reiji sighs. "As I thought... Really, do you not have better things to do with your time?"

"Tch...! I'm out of here, Chichinashi. Later!" Ayato vanishes in a last-ditch effort to avoid a scolding from Reiji, leaving Yui to deal with the aftermath, as usual.

"...Would you care to explain what has occurred?" Reiji arches an eyebrow delicately.

Yui forces a smile, awkward as it may be. "I was just cooking some pasta for you when Ayato-kun came in and started demanding that I make him takoyaki... We don't even have the ingredients for it." She sighs. "I'm... I'm so sorry that you had to taste something like that! He poured a lot of salt into the sauce. I'm sure it was dreadful."

"You seem to find yourself in this sort of situation quite often. You're a veritable trouble magnet."

"Well..." Yui shifts her weight uncomfortably from one leg to the other, not sure how to answer. "Ayato-kun seems to get angry with me no matter what I do. Even if the request he's making is unreasonable, I'm expected to carry it out." She realizes that it sounds like she's complaining, but she cannot hide her true thoughts and feelings—least of all from the discerning Reiji.

"So you're blaming others for your own misfortunes, are you? How typical of a woman."

"......" She doesn't know how to respond to that, either, though she knows being male or female has nothing to do with it. Yui would very much like to say that she would love nothing more than to be left in peace rather than having to constantly cater to the bored and pampered Sakamakis (particularly the younger half of the group), but she gets the feeling that that would be a less-than-wise thing to say. Yui has come to learn that no matter how he may feel about his brothers as individuals, Reiji places great importance in his family as a whole unit. "I'm sorry." she says, finally. Her tone is deflated, which does not escape Reiji's attention.

"An apology is not very convincing when you seem to have no concept of having done wrong." Reiji sighs, pushing up his glasses once more.

"Well, what would you have done in that situation, Reiji-san?" Yui tries to keep her voice from rising, but she's tired of being treated as if she's a stupid creature who always does wrong.

"What I am trying to say is that your soft personality allows these situations to happen in the first place."

"Please don't be unreasonable..." Yui frowns. She can hardly change her entire personality at this point in time, as much as anyone else might wish it.

"Admittedly... You would not be yourself if you were not so, I suppose." Reiji says in a voice so soft that Yui almost misses it. Her face flushes red and she turns away, feeling a little ashamed of herself for being so touched by the most scant of compliments. "Now, what are you going to do about this?" Yui looks back at Reiji in time to see him gesturing towards the pot of sauce still on the stove.

Yui knows just how much Reiji hates wasting food. "Well... If I pour all of that into a larger pot, I can add more ingredients to make more sauce. Then the flavor would even out and the excess salt wouldn't be a problem anymore."

"Not a bad idea," Reiji drawls, folding his arms across his chest. "Give it a try, then."

Of course he makes no move to help her, but Yui can't remember the last time one of their disagreements ended so peacefully. She's more than happy enough just to not receive any punishment or lectures due to Ayato's prank.  _It feels like Reiji-san is mellowing out recently. I'm so glad._

"Do be prepared to take responsibility if the pasta is not to my taste, however, especially after making me wait so long." He produces his whip and begins to polish the handle quite enthusiastically, occasionally looking over to see how Yui is doing.

_...I take that back._

* * *

"Here you go, Reiji-san."

Reiji glances up from his book to see Yui laying a cup of tea in front of him. From the scent, he guesses that it's chamomile tea. "A relaxing tea at this hour?" It's still quite dark outside and he has no intention of sleeping yet.

"Lately you've been staying up for hours reading. I think that it's amazing how dedicated you are to learning, but it's best not to overdo it..." Her tone is a little hesitant so as to communicate that she's giving a gentle suggestion, not a command.

Yui has always walked on eggshells around the Sakamakis. It never particularly bothered Reiji before; after all, humans should naturally be more respectful towards the vampires who are superior to them in every possible way. Lately, however, he's found her reservation to be a bit vexing.  _It begs the question—what is she actually thinking in that little head of hers...?_

Gingerly, Reiji takes a little sip of the tea. While not completely to his taste, it is better than her last attempt.  _For a human, she is a reasonably quick study, I suppose._

"How is it...?"

"Not bad." Reiji shrugs his shoulders a little. "However, the water used to brew the tea should not be quite so hot. It ruins the leaves."

"I see! I'll pay more attention to that next time." Yui nods, looking determined.

"Say..."

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever given any thought to becoming a vampire?"

"Eh!? Like...in a hypothetical situation? If I was a vampire? What do you mean?" Her thunderstruck expression is enough of an answer.

Reiji sighs. "No... Never mind."

"What brought this on?" Yui tilts her head to one side curiously.

"........." Reiji tries to ignore her and continue on reading, but to no avail. Though he wonders what Yui plans to do with the rest of her life, he cannot bring himself to ask. For one thing, in a way she has no real choice in the matter. Her fate was sealed the moment she was brought to the house as a sacrificial bride. Yui cannot be allowed to leave—she's as bound to the house as the rest of them. It's a question of whether she will live or die here in the end.

"Being a vampire surely would be interesting! To be able to fly, turn invisible..." Yui's eyes light up as her imagination kicks into overdrive.

_...was it folly to expect an intelligent answer from her?_

"But... I think that to be a vampire means experiencing despair, as well." Yui smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I already know well that living forever doesn't guarantee being happy forever. ...Right?"

Reiji stares blankly at Yui for a few moments before chuckling a bit sadly. "...Indeed. It does not. Still, no one can predict with certainty what the future might bring." There is still plenty of time to ponder the future and what role Yui might play in it. Reiji rises from his chair and shuts the book.

"R-Reiji-san?"

He strides towards the door. "Come."

"But where are we going?"

"If you are going to be staying here for some time yet, I believe it would be good for you to learn how to cook my favorite food in a way that it is at least edible."

Yui flushes a deep red. "How mean, Reiji-san!! My carbonara is not  _that_  bad!"

"Is it not? You shall have to make good on those words."

"I will!" Though he has seen her smile many times, it always fascinates Reiji how Yui is able to show such happiness despite the experiences she's had.  _I, too, need to put aside my uncertainties... It does not do to dwell on them._  He clears the unsettling dream from his mind at last.

Spirits raised considerably, Reiji heads for the kitchen with Yui.


End file.
